Slavery: the state of being under the control of another person/the practice of owning slaves/work done under harsh conditions for little or no pay.

I think it was Cristiano Ronaldo's agent who was talking about his poor client being treated like a slave. Marcello Lombilla, the agent of Argentine international Fabricio Coloccini is now spinning the same line as they try to negociate an exit route for Colo from Deportivo La Coruña. The player said he was not looking for a transfer just last week but now that Newcastle have flashed a wad of cash in front of their eyes the duo have taken the slavery line. They are frustrated because the Toon have apparently matched Depor's €12 million asking price but the Galicians have now moved the goalposts. Taking in the goalposts after training is probably about the closest thing these players know to slavery. Did they not sign lucrative contracts? My heart bleeds.

There’s only one Hibernian. Or is there? The most famous is the team known simply as Hibernian – The Edinburgh Hibees – Scotland’s oldest football club of Irish Catholic origin (formed 13 years before Glasgow Celtic). Hibs were the first British team to play in European competition, semi-finalists in the first European Cup, and have been four times Scottish champions, twice Scottish Cup winners and three times League Cup winners.

Hibees fan and researcher, Bobby Sinnet, has recently been adding to Alan Lugton’s list of other Scottish clubs who have used the name. At the last count Bobby has come up with almost fifty. Deep breath, here we go:

Arbroath Hibernian, Brechin Hibernian, Cowal Hibernian, Kilmarnock Hibernian, St Josephs Hibernian, Kimaurs Hibernian, Alloa Hibernian, Bonhill Hibernian, Yoker Hibernian, Smithston Hibernian, Dumbarton Hibernian, Duntocher Hibernian, Milngavie Hibernian, Dundee Hibernian, Lochee Hibernian, Dunfermline Hibernian,Fifeshire Hibernian, Thornton Hibernian, Glasgow Hibernian, League Hibernian, Tollcross Hibernian, Govan Hibernian, Eastern Hibernian, Parkhead Hibernian, Western Hibernian, Airdrie Hibernian, Clarkston Hibernian, Blantyre Hibernian, Cambuslang Hibernian, Cambuslang Hibernian Juniors, Chapelhall Hibernian, Coatbridge Hibernian, Coatdyke Hibernian, Larkhall Hibernian, Mossend Hibernian, Motherwell Hibernian, Tannochside Hibernian, Wishaw Hibernian, Peebles Hibernian, Western Hibernian, Greenock Hibernian, Johnstone Hibernian, Paisley Hibernian, Denny Hibernian, Falkirk Hibernian, Fauldhouse Hibernian, Queensferry Hibernian and Maryhill Hibernian.

Remember, those are just the Scottish Hibernians! Given that Hibernian is the old Roman name for Ireland, it is not surprising that there have been numerous Hibernians across the water. These include teams from Cork, Galway and Waterford. Also, we should not forget nine times Maltese champions and coincidentally Malta’s first ever entrants into European competition: Paola Hibernians.

The two teams I fancied most prior to the tournament were Portugal and Germany. After watching the first round of games, I haven’t seen that much to make me change my mind. The performances of Spain and even more notably the Netherlands’ annihilation of the world champions may have made us all sit up and take notice, but will either last the pace?

Spain have raised our hopes so often only to prove a letdown. We have every right to be cautious about them at this stage. Meanwhile, the Dutch look great but have they peaked too early? Both look to have squads capable of going all the way but it will be interesting to see if either hold up when it really counts.

I have seen better Spanish sides but coach Aragones’ single-minded determination to keep Raúl out of proceedings, despite months of pressure from the press and the public, might just work in their favour. There are no prima donnas in the Spanish side. If they work hard for each other, like the less talented Greeks did four years ago, then who knows? Fernando Torres has not been reproducing his club form with the national side of late but there were clear signs against Russia that he could form a deadly partnership with hat-trick hero David Villa.

Others who are in with a shout? I wouldn’t write off Italy just yet. But they will do very well to get through the first stage as there are no whipping boys in that group. Historically, if anyone can recover from a poor start it is the Italians.

I can’t see Russia doing the same now. I thought they might have been one of the surprise packages. It loos as if it will be up to Romania or Croatia to provide the eastern promise. One of these countries could potentially make the semi-finals. I was once lambasted for describing the Czechs as Eastern Europeans. Perhaps they had a point. They are not too far from home and have a good record in this competition. A reasonable outside bet to make the final perhaps? Meanwhile, France will have to vastly improve on their opening performance in order to stand a chance. But I just don’t fancy them this time.

That brings me back to the impressively solid opening performances of Germany and Portugal. The latter have so much talent throughout their ranks and possibly the best back four in the competition. Romantically it would be nice to see them come out on top, especially after coming so close last time. But the history books say the Germans often win football tournaments and they haven’t won one for a while.

It is looking increasingly likely that Ronaldinho has played his last game for Barcelona. Marca reported a couple of weeks back that he is no longer fit for training due to burning the midnight oil. Deco apart (and the two of them usually are in training), Ronaldinho is said to have few friends left in the dressing room. Barça stand by their claim that Ronaldinho is injured, despite Sala Martin’s controversial radio interview last week, in which the club official stated that indiscipline was the real reason behind some notable absences in the squad.

Roberto Carlos recently said that his current club Fenerbahce would be very interested in signing Ronaldino. But the Turks, who are are rumoured to have 180m € to spend on new players, may now be tempted to splash about half that amount on Samuel Eto’o, according to reports today.

Marca also reported a fortnight ago that Rafa Benitez is favoured by Joan Laporta to replace Frank Rijkaard next season. Again, the Catalans deny there are any moves afoot to replace their head coach.

But it feels like the end of an era. The only big surprise would be if there were no major changes at the Camp Nou this summer. The current team is reminiscent of Real Madrid’s “Galactico period”, with loads of star individuals failing to put it together as a team on a regular basis. Barcelona could still redeem their season by winning the European Cup but I doubt it.

I’ve been saying for a while now that I expect Barça to go out to one of the top English clubs and see no reason to change that view. From a purist point of view I’d like to be wrong, but I think Barca’s shortage of physical presence in many areas will be exposed by the pace and power of Manchester United, and if not then Liverpool or Chelsea.

There is some good news for the future with the emergence of Bojan in particular. The other week he became one of the youngest players to score in Europe’s major tournament. Another emerging talent at the Nou Camp is 17-year-old Gai Assulin. He is yet to make his league debut for the first team, but the Israeli youngster made an appearance for country against Chile in March. The player has rather predictably been dubbed the “new Messi”, even though old Messi is barely out of his teens. They are of similar style however, as this video on Assulin’s website show.

This is a sketch about a swaggering Irishman attending a Hibs v Rangers game at Easter Road. The comedian is Andrew Maxwell from Dublin. Apparently he is of Protestant stock; an irony not lost on a significant number of Hibs fans when on the receiving end of sectarian abuse. (Warning - foul and offensive language. Do not watch if easily offended.)

Last week on TV, I watched Aiden McGeady play for Eire against Brazil. I thought he looked by far Ireland’s most elegant player and he wouldn’t have looked out of place in the opposition line-up. I’ve also been very impressed by his contribution in the Champion’s League for Celtic against the likes of AC Milan.

Chic Young, praises McGeady to the heavens in his BBC column this week. For once, I’d have to agree that his hyperbole may be justified. Young appears to partly blame Celtic for McGeady's "defection" but I feel somewhere along the line the SFA have to shoulder some responsibility. I’ve mentioned McGeady before on this blog along with Hamiliton youngster, James McCarthy.Do these players really prefer to play for another country other than the one they were born and bred in or are there other factors at work? It has been suggested to me that sectarianism might be behind it all. I don’t know about that but I do wonder if every effort was made to persuade these players their future lay with Scotland. In some quarters the claim will be dismissed as paranoia. But whatever the case, it’s very frustrating when a small country like Scotland's best talents commit their international future to the Republic of Ireland.

Chic Young’s View

It's claimed there are thirty million players and fourteen thousand teams in Brazil. Little wonder the country has won five World Cups and eight Copas America. So important is the round ball there, that football makes up 4.8% of Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product.

Last year, Brazil exported no fewer than 1,086 professional footballers. A staggering 227 of these players went to Portugal - a covenient introduction to Europe where the language barrier presents no problems. Somewhat surprisingly perhaps, Japan was the second most popular destination with 57 going there. In fact, Asia is clearly a profitable continent for Brazilian footballers with no less than 31 going to Hong Kong, while 27 chose China and more than twenty went to Indonesia.

Europe’s big leagues are of course the dream destination for many Brazilians. I was a little surprised to read that more players went to Italy(47)and Germany(44), than Spain. Last year 38 Brazilians took up the challenge of a move to La Liga, as they attempted to follow in the footsteps of national heroes like Ronaldinho and Robinho.

However, only six made the move to England. Perhaps England’s chilly weather combined with a very different language and culture make it less of an attraction. But than doesn’t explain why many more went to Germany.

Almost 100 Brazilians were eligible to play in this season’s European Cup. That’s nearly as many as the number of Italians(55)and Spaniards(53)put together.

Here are some of the greatest of all time, including two midfielders that would feature among the best midfielders I've seen in my lifetime: Zico and Socrates. Who says it isn't a game for the thinking man?

Information gathered from the Spanish sports daily AS, 26th Jan, 2008.

It went pear-shaped for John Collins, whose quote that “the ball is round and is meant to roll” provided the title for this blog.

It’s been a topsy-turvy season for the Leith club. They’ve won at Ibrox and Tynecastle and taken four points out of six off Celtic. Yet, despite topping the league in early October they found themselves without a manager and in the bottom 6 by Christmas.

Hibs often raise their game against the Old Firm while struggling against some of the league’s lower lights. This is nothing new and has been happening since Mowbray took over in the summer of 2004. Prior to Boxing Day's abject 2-1 defeat to Rangers, the Hibees had gone five matches undefeated against the Old Firm. Don’t be fooled by the Boxing Day scoreline though. Rangers battered a punchless Hibs as they strolled to their most comfortable win in Leith for years.

Collins’ team have not been that great to watch. If the truth be told there has been a lot of lazy journalism surrounding Hibs for some time now. “Fast flowing football with a cutting edge”, a phrase coined by Tony Mowbray for interview purposes, has been little in evidence since Hibs destroyed Kilmarnock in the CIS Cup final last March. It’s been more like blow football with a tendency to defensively implode of late.

The comedown was on the cards. The only ever-present thing at Hibs is change. Collins cleared out the best part of the squad in the summer. Young talented players were replaced by less accomplished or inexperienced performers: Gathuessi/McCann for Whittaker, Kerr for Brown, O’Brien for Sproule, Antoine Courier for Killen, etc. For the first nine games of the season, Hibs played well and carried some luck but the replacement of good players with inferior ones was always going to show up as the season went on.

Collins claimed the reason for his departure was the lack of cash available for investment in the team. All Hibs fans can see he has a point there. Hibs have taken in far more in transfer fees than any club outside the Old Firm or Hearts. Chief executive Rod Petrie says the player budget is a match for any team outside of that trio but even so, is that good enough? Is being able to offer similar wages to Aberdeen and Dundee United showing that much ambition when Hibs have higher average crowds than these clubs in addition to taking in several million more in transfer fees than the “New Firm” put together.

The problem with Hibs owner Tom Farmer is that he openly admits to not being a football fan. He sees Hibs as a community club. This is all very well but the fans also want to see a club that can compete with the best on the park. Hibs have recently opened a new five million pound training centre, which has to be a good thing for continuing to build on the reputation for producing young players and should help attract a better quality of experienced player to the new state-of-the-art facilities. But a good team takes years to build with minimal tinkering here and there each season. The Hibs board seem to have been only too happy to dismantle theirs in the shortest time possible.

On the day the new training centre opened, I watched the speeches of Farmer and his right-hand man, Rod Petrie. Farmer talked about how facilities at the training centre would help support local projects. He was also very quick to praise the man he saw responsible for an upturn in Hibs fortunes... the manager who led the club to its first cup win in 17 years last season? No, the man he thanked and praised repeatedly was Chief Executive, Mr. Petrie. The duo only seem to see the healthy bank balance, the cup in the trophy cabinet and not the sickly state of affairs incubating on the field of play.

Collins was left standing there as Farmer invited Petrie to jointly open the new facility. The manager resigned the next day. A coincidence? Perhaps, but if Collins had to regularly listen to the eulogising of the chief executive and pleas to bring back the Scottish Cup then that might just have pushed him over the edge. You could just see Collins thinking through a clenched smile: “Well, I might be able to if you gave me some more money for players.”

Collins has made many mistakes. He is inexperienced and has faced at least one player revolt, suggesting he has a lot to learn about man management. It is debatable whether even one of his signings is as good as Benji, Zemmama, Sproule, Shiels and the soon to depart Beuzelin and Murphy, to name just a few of the players brought in by his predecessor Tony Mowbray on a similarly limited budget. Collins hasn’t exactly left covered in roses after claiming just a few weeks ago that he “never broke a contact as a player and didn’t intend to start now”. He doesn’t need the money and will get a good offer somewhere in time; probably in a climate that he prefers. It wouldn’t surprise me if he just realised that his heart wasn’t in it long-term and that quitting before Christmas would mean he could spend the time with his family instead.

After much humming and hawing, the Hibs board, tucked up in their highly confidential underground bunker located somewhere below the stadium, have finally appointed a manager in Mixu Paatelainen who is a popular choice with most of the fans... he will be able to live off the glory of a hat-trick in a 6-2 win against Hearts for a while yet. But it’s now up to Mixu to try to sort out the mess. Farmer and Petrie must ensure the Finn gets a chance to do this without both hands tied behind his back in the transfer market. If not the healthy crowds of recent years will fall as many Hibees are fed up with the dwindling number of quality onfield assets.

I fear for Aberdeen in Madrid tonight. The likes of Kun Agüero up against Zander Diamond could provide one of the biggest mismatches since Anne Boleyn hooked up with Henry VIII.

It may be that Atletico Madrid will rest some of their key players but if Kun Agüero plays, the Aberdeen defence could be in for a seriously hard time. This diminutive Argentine striker became the youngest to play in his country’s top league when he made his debut for Independiente shortly after his fifteenth birthday!

In his second season at Atletico Madrid he is beginning to live up to the hype. Think Maradona, Messi, Riquelme, Pablo Aimar... What do they put in the water in Argentina which results in an abundance of these sorts of players? Whatever it is, we could do with just one player like this in Scotland.

Even if Agüero is rested Atletico have plenty of other South American firepower in the shape of Diego Forlan (don’t laugh if you only remember him from Man U as he was top scorer in Spain a couple of years ago) and Maxi Rodriguez – remember him?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8VZ_P_GjMiU

Atletico Madrid have been banging in the goals in La Liga this season where only their great city rivals have scored more. Aberdeen will have to hope the Atletico defence is in a generous mood – as it often has been of late. Atletico’s last three home games in the league have finished 4-3, with wins over Sevilla and Valladolid and a defeat by the same score to Villarreal. On their last UEFA outing Atletico drew 3-3 with Locomotiv in Moscow.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7T7x9_TEvr8&feature=related

With Aberdeen coming off the back of heavy defeats at Tynecastle and Celtic Park the form book points to plenty of goals tonight with the Dons likely to be conceding most of them.

Gordon Brown is the latest to jump on the Home International Championship bandwagon. I have fond memories of the home internationals and Auld Enemy clashes in particular. But part of me says it would be better if it remained that way. It could turn out to be like a remake of Starsky and Hutch – just wouldn’t be the same.

I’ll be watching the European Championships with or without British participation. In fact, there will be some great football on show and there is the added bonus of not having hourly updates from the England camp or on Rooney’s latest injury. Talk about an island mentality though when the BBC are suggesting other sporting ways to spend the summer just because England won’t be there. So if you fancy watching squash or synchronised swimming instead then have a peek here:

Alternative Summer Guide

Wales were the only home nation to achieve a good result this midweek with a goalless draw in Germany. Meanwhile Northern Ireland, the reigning British champions (the Home International Championship was last held in 1984), put up a respectable fight in Spain and took their campaign to the wire.

For Scotland it was an all too familiar story. So near, yet so far. But let’s examine some of the other claims made about last week’s game at Hampden. The Sunday Mail went with the headline Scotland Robbed as ref Gifts Italy Last Minute Winner. Well, how the ref saw that as a foul by Hutton rather than on him is beyond belief but after being “robbed” Scotland fans woke up to the replays in the cold light of day. These showed Italy scored two good goals in the first half and could have had their qualification virtually sealed by half-time. Not only that but the Scotland goal looked slightly offside.

So let’s forget the conspiracy theories and victim mentality that seem to follow some Scotland fans around and move on. When it came to the crunch the Scots were just a little short of both the world cup finalists over 12 games. That's impressive and means the country can look forward to the draw for the World Cup qualifying this weekend with a renewed sense of optimism.

England is a nation in mourning today. Was there once again a believe that they were better than their recent results and performances suggested? Was gaining a point against Croatia considered a mere formality in front of a large Wembley crowd? England really needs to get real about its football team. Croatia look a very decent side but England have lost out to a Russian team who couldn’t get a point in Israel in a key fixture and could only put one goal past the mighty Andorra.

Little wonder then that fans in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are champing at the bit to take on England as soon as possible.